Nissan Motor to invest $1.4 bn to build two new electric cars in UK

Japanese auto giant Nissan Motor has confirmed that it will manufacture two new electric vehicles in United Kigdom. On Friday (November 24), the carmaker announced an investment of up to $1.4 billion (roughly converted to ₹7,533 crore) which will be focussed on producing electric avatars of two popular crossover models. Nissan confirmed reports that the two upcoming EVs will be electric versions of the Qashqai and Juke. Both models, offered as ICE, are currently manufactured at its Sunderland facility in UK.

Nissan Motor recently showcased new EV concepts at the Japan Auto Show. The production versions of two of these models could be among the upcoming two EVs. First is the Nissan Hyper Urban Concept, a crossover EV. The second is called Nissan Hyper Punk Concept, an all-electric compact crossover. The third model is Nissan Chill-Out Concept, which was unveiled in 2021 and was reportedly the carmaker's first EV concept planned for production in Sunderland.

Nissan Motor showcased the ICE and hybrid versions of the Qashqai and Juke in India in October last year. The Juke is smaller in size compared to Qashqai, and could rival the likes of Creta and Seltos when launched in India. Qashqai could aim at the popularity of Harrier and others. The carmaker is currently testing the road feasibility of these models. The Qashqai has already been spotted on Indian roads during test runs.

Earlier, British broadcaster Sky News had reported that the Japanese carmaker will work on the EV versions of the Qashqai and Juke at its Sunderland factory with fresh investments. Currently, the only electric car this facility manufactures is the Nissan Leaf. The Japanese auto giant has the ambition to go all-electric in Europe by the year 2030 with 19 new EV models. The carmaker had earlier set its targets to rival the likes of Tesla.

Announcing the investment plans in UK, Makoto Uchida, CEO at Nissan Motor said, “With electric versions of our core European models on the way, we are accelerating towards a new era for Nissan." Rishi Sunak, Prime Minister of UK, said, “Making the UK the best place to do business is at the heart of our economic plan."

Nissan's EV-focussed announcement comes months after Tata Motors announced investment of more than $5 billion to set up a battery manufacturing plant in UK to electrify Jaguar Land Rover fleet.